DAY 75 - LEARNING HOW TO BREATHE

Day 75

When I was 20 years old, I wanted to save money to travel to Europe.  After weeks of searching for a job, I finally found work as an office clerk.  I have always known that I could never have a 9 to 5 job.  Although this position was going to allow me to save a lot of money for my trip, it still created a lot of anxiety in me.  I felt imprisoned, in an office all day, filing paper.  For the two months I worked there, I lost the ability to breathe deeply.  I remember complaining about it to my friends who thought it was quite funny. 

When we are born, we naturally breathe properly.  As we grow older and are confronted with stress, anxiety and worry, our breathing slowly shifts. It becomes more shallow.  This «chest » breathing can actually impact our energy level. We breathe in oxygen and we breathe out carbon dioxide.  Too much oxygen and not enough carbon dioxide can lead to an agitated state while too much carbon dioxide and not enough oxygen can create fatigue and depression.  

Proper breathing technique is central to the ancient practices of yoga and other meditation disciplines.  The reason being that breathing has an impact on our physical and emotional states.

Learning to breathe in an out slowly from the nose and through the diaphragm can help create balance in our oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. One technique is called "4-7-8..   You inhale to the count of four, hold the breath to the count of seven, and slowly exhale to the count of eight.

Breathing properly takes time and practice.  After years of improper technique, it is not easy to change.  However, by becoming conscious of our breathing throughout the day at different times and making this change a priority, we can help alleviate tension, anxiety and fatigue in a simple accessible way.  We have been taking breathing for granted for way too long, maybe it’s time for us to start paying attention to it a little more.

Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. ~  Thich Nhat Hanh

Here is an interesting article on three different breathing techniques: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART00521/three-breathing-exercises.html